You don't need me to tell you that it’s been a trying 2.5 years. From a global pandemic, to national civil rights movement, Yoga Tree and YogaWorks shutting down their studios, devastating wildfires, political turmoil, loss of personal freedoms, the events of this year have caused major shifts for us both personally and collectively.

Every year around this time, I begin to prepare for my fall teacher training. I spend a lot of time talking to students who might be interested in joining us for the six-month journey. We talk about postures, and pranayama, and what the training weekends will look like, but mostly we talk about this yogic path as a way for students to find their authentic voice, and dig deeper into who they are, and, maybe, who they want to become.

Berkeley is in summer mode. On walks with Quinn and Stephanie, sunshine warms my skin and the fragrance of a neighbor’s jasmine lingers on our block. At the same time, there is heaviness in the air. We feel the reverberations of violence in our wider community, the families grieving unimaginable loss, the lives brutally taken in Tulsa, Buffalo, Uvalde and the overturning of Roe vs Wade. The list of suffering is long and dark.

I didn't grow up wanting to be a teacher. And yet, I have found my way to teaching as my primary career. I believe we have two jobs as we help our students grow in the practice. The first is to be authentic ourselves. The second is to teach in a way that helps our students find their own path to authenticity and uniqueness - in whatever ways they choose to use their practice.